Prune picker



sept. 27, 1 LlEBFRlED PRUNE PICKER 'Filed Nov. 1o. 1951 4 Smeets-sheet 1 ,/Iltorney Sept. 27, 1932. J, UEBFRIED Lg PRUNE PIGKER Filed Nov. l0, 193,1 i4 Sheets-Shee 5 l llorney Filed Nov. lO, 1931 54 Sheets-Sheet 4 lfomey Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED [STA-TES JACOB LIEBFRIED, or SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA PRUNE PICKER Application filed November io, 193i. vserial No. 574,182.V

This invention relates to a device for gathering prunes and the like off the ground, the general object of the invention being to provide a wheel supported frame, having a drum thereon rotated by a pair of the wheels,

with cam operated pins in the drum for picking up the prunes from the ground as the frame travels along, with mea-ns for causing the prunes picked up by the pins to be deio posited in a receptaclecarried by the frame.

Another object of the invention is toso arrange the pins that they will pick up prunes on unlevel ground as well as level ground, and to provide means separating'the leaves and the like from the prunes before they are deposited in the receptacle.

This invention also consists in certain other features of construction and `in the combination and arrangement of the several parts to i be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in.

the accompanying drawings and speciiically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing the invention in detail, the reference will be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like or correspondingparts throughout the several views, and in which:-

Figure l is an elevation of the apparatus.

Fig. 2 isa top plan view thereof. I

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view. through the drum and showing a part of the frame in transverse section.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view through the drum and a longitudinal sectional View through the conveyor member which receives the prunes from the drum.

Fig. 5 is a view of one of the 'cams with one of the pins with the shaft and tubular part V in section. l

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one end of one of the bars with a pin thereon. A' Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the drum showing the perforations through which the pins pass. l Fig. 8 is a horizontal sectional view of a part of the conveyor.

In these drawings the letters A and indicate a pair of wheel supported`framesthe rear frame B being supported bythe wheels 1) 1 carried by the axle 2 and having a handle 3 attached thereto through'which the frame n can bepushed along lthe ground, and the front frame A is supported by-'the wheels 4c attached by the short spokes 6 to theldrum C which is rotatably supported iii the frame A as will be hereinafter described. 'i

Brackets-"7 are attached to the front part' ofthe frame A at the corners thereof,'and a brush of needles 8 is carriedby each brack-j et, these brushes being so arranged as to defA iiect the prunes lying .in the path of the wheels inwardly, where they will be engagedl by the pins of the drum.` Y I The twoframes are connected together by the coupling part 9,the female part of whichl has a groove therein to receive a-pin 10, which dctachably connects thetwo coupling parts together Vwhile permitting them to Vhave pivotal .movemeiit, thus permitting the two frames to readily pass over uneven ground without interfering with the operation of the' device. l

The drum C is composed of the outer cylinder 12,V the Vinner cylinder 13, and the end disks 14, with which the ends ofthe cylinders are connected, and the hub portions of these disks are connected to a hollow shaft 15 ro-v tatably arranged through means of the bearings 16 on the hollow shaft 17 through a rod 18 passes withits ends projecting beyond the hollow 4shaft 17 and threaded in side parts of the frame A.

The outerV cylinder 12 is provided with perforations 19 through -which pins 20 pass', these pins being arranged in rows and each row being carried by a bar 21 which is formed with a perforated flange 22 through which the pins pass, each pin having a pair of enlargements 23 thereon one on one side of the flange and one on the other, to enable the pin to have limited sliding movement in the perforation ofthe flange'. The pin can be passed through the perforation in the flange and then the inner end upset to form the enlargement 23 at the inner end of the pin. l

'Thesebars 21 pass through slots 24 in the end disks i? the drum and have their roll-V e-rs 25 at their ends for engagingthe cam tracks 26 carried by the caminembers 27 at the sides of the frame A. The flanges 22 of im the bars 21 are slotted as at 28 and projections 29 are located on the ends of the bars and these slots or notches 28 and the projections 29 engage portions of the disks 14 and act as guide means for the bars as they are moved inwardly and outwardly in the slots of the disks 14. The cams are so arranged and located that they will move the bars outwardly as the bars and pins start to move downwardly with the drum, and as the slots in which the ends of the bars move are radil ally arranged as the pins are moved outwardly the outer ends will move apart so that as the pins strike the ground, they can pass over..

the prunes lying thereon and then as the bars and the pinsaremoved upwardly by the cams, the outer ends of the pins move towards each other so that they will pick up the prunes and therefore, the prunes will be carried upwardly with the upward moving part of the drum with the prunes located between the outer ends of the pins and the cylinder. f

- During this upward movement, the rollers on VYthe barsengage concentric portions of the cam tracks so that no movement of the tending parts of the cam tracks when they are forced outwardly as before described, and as clearly shown in Fig. 4.

The stripper lingers before mentioned are shown at 30 and are formed in the lower end of the upwardly and forwardly sloping part 31 of .a chute D which has its downwardly and rearwardly sloping upper part 32 separated from thepart 31 by a partition 33, the upper end of which terminates short of theV rounded upper end of the chute D. Thus, as the prunes are taken from the pins by the stripper fingers 30 they are caused to travel up the part 31 by the following prunes which are pushed along by the pins 20.

As the prunes reach the curved upper endV of the chute, they pass over the upper end of the partition 33 and then roll down the same into the receptacle 34 carried by the frame B. As the prunes pass down the chute they pass over the angle member 35 which passes through an opening 364 in the bottom of the chute and is pivoted in the chute as shown at 37, with its short upper arm in the path of the pins, so that the device acts Vas an agitator, as it is moved by the pins, and

i thus as the prunes pass over the device, the

leaves and otherjforeign matter will be removed therefrom as this matter will dropv through the opening 36iwhich is too small to" permit the prunes to lpass through.

By giving the pins a li-mited sliding movement in the bars, the pins will also accommodate themselves to uneven ground and to rocks and other obstructions on the ground, for when the pins strike the obstructions, they will simply move inwardly and thus not be damaged.

Y Thus it will be Yseen that I have rovided means for picking up prunes and ot er fruit from the ground and deposit them into a tray carried -by the frame B,`the. pins being slidably vsupported in the bars so as to adjust themselves to the contour of the ground, and

the pins acting .to grip the prunes between them, so that as the 'pins are drawn inwardly by the cams, the prunes are carried upwardly with the dru-m anddeposited into the chute D which in turn deposits them into the receptacle. It is thought from the foregoing descripltion that the advantages andnovel features of the invention will be readily apparent.

A It isY to be understood that changes may bemade in the construction andin the combination and arrangement of the several parts provided that such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims. i'

Having thusdescribed my invention, what lrclaim as-new is 1. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a wheel supported frame, a drum rotatably supported in the frame and having openings in its ends, said drum having openings in its periphery, a plurality of bars passing through the drum, stationary cam tracks carried by the frameV and, with which the ends yof the bars engage said ends passing through the openings, a plurality of pins carried by each bar andpassing through the openings inthe periphery of the drum ,for picking vup objects from thek ground and carrying them around with the drum, and means for receivingthe articles from the top part of the drum.v 2. Adevicey for gathering fruit and the like-comprising va wheel supported frame, a drum rotatablyl supported in the frame and having openings in its ends, said drum having openings in itsfperiph'ery, a plurality of bars passing through the drum, stationary cam tracks' carri.edbythe frame and with which the ends of the bars engage said ends passing through the openings,` a plurality of pins carried by each bar and passing through the openings in the periphery of the drum for picking up objects from the ground and carrying them around with the drum, means for receiving the larticles from the top part of the drum, each pin having limited sliding movement in its bar.

SLA device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a wheel supported frame, a drum rotatably supported-in the l'frame and having openings in its ends, anddriven from some, of thewheels thereof', cam tracks attached to the. frame, bars passing through the drum and having theirrends engaging the tracks, a plurality ofpins carried by each bar and having limited `sliding movement therein, said pins passing slidably through the drum, a chute in which the objects picked` up by the pins are forced by the. pins as the pin moves upwardly withthe drum.

l. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a pair of frames, a couplingl consisting of a pair of parts pivot-ally connected together, for connecting the frames together, wheels for the frames, a drum carried by the front frame and including a pair of inner and outer cylinders, the outer cylinder having openings therein, a pairy of cam tracks carriedby the front frame, bars passing between cylinders and having rollers at their ends engaging the cam tracks, aplurality of pins carried by each bar and having limited sliding movement therein, said pins passing through the openings in the outer cylinder, and bein@l projected and retracted by the movement or the bars in the cam tracks, a chute for receiving articles carried upwardly by the sins of the drum, and a receptacle on the rear frame for receiving the articles freni the chute. Y

5. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a pair of frames, a coupling consisting of a pair of parts pivotally connected together. for connecting the frames together, an axle passing through the rear frame, Wheels at the ends of the axle, a drum rotatably supported in the front frame, a pair of wheels carried thereby, said drum including a pair of inner and outer cylinders, said outer cylinders having openings therein, a pair of cam tracks carried by the front frame, bars passing thru the drum between the cylinders and having rollers at their ends engaging the cam tracks, a plurality of pins carried by each bar and having limited sliding movement therein, said pins passing through the opening in the outer cylinder, and being projected and retracted by the movement of the bars in the cam tracks, a chute for receiving articles carried upwardly by the pins of the drum, a recep-v tacle on the rear frame for receiving the articles from the chute, and means in the chute for separating foreign matter from the articles passed therethrough.

6. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a supporting frame, a drum rotatably. supported thereby and having openings in its periphery, a plurality of pins passino' through said openings in the drum, means for projecting and retracting the pins, guiding means for the pins for causing the outer ends of adjacent pins to move towards each other as the pins are retracted whereby said adjacent pins will grip articles between their outer ends and carry said articles around with the drum and a receiver for receiving the yarticles at the upper part of the drum.

7. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a supporting frame, adrum rotatably supported thereby and having openings in its periphery, a plurality of pins passing through the said openings in the drum, means for projecting and retracting the pins for causing the same to pick up articles from the ground and carry them around with the drum, a receiver for receiving the articles at the upper part of the drum, said receiver comprising a diagonally arranged chute having a partition therein dividing the'same into upper and lower passages, the upper lend of the partition being spaced from the upper end of the chute, the pins forcing the articles into the lower paf*- sage and causing the articles to pass up the lower passage and up over the partition, down which they will roll.

8. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a supporting frame, a drum rotatablysupported thereby, a plurality of pins passing through the drum, means for projecting and retracting the pins for causing theV same to pick up articles from the ground and carry them around with the drum, a receiver for receiving the articles at the upper part of the drum, said receiver comprising a diagonally arranged chute having a partition therein dividing the same into upper and lower passages, the upper end of the partition being spaced from the upper end of the chute, the pins forcing the articles into the lower passage and causing the articles to pass up the lower passage andI up over the partition, down which they will roll,

va pivoted member in the chute over which ,Y

the articles will pass, said pivoted member having a part engaging the upper pins whereby the pins will vibrate the member.

9. A device for gathering fruit and the like comprising a supporting frame, a drum rotatably supported-in the frame and having inwardly converging slots in its ends and openings in its periphery, a pluralityk of bars passing through the drum and through said slots, stationary cam tracks carried by the frame and with which the ends of the bars engage, Va plurality of pins carried by each bar and passing through the openings in the drum, adjacent pins gripping articles between their outer ends as said adjacent pins move inwardly whereby said articles will be carried around the drum.

In testimony whereof I afhX my signature.

i JACOB LIEBFRIED. 

